Scots care charity Quarriers boosts Englishprofile

The charity, which opened an English branch in Bath last year, has
secured Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell and Unicef European regional
comms adviser Lynn Geldof as keynote speakers for 'Children's rights v
press freedom - who wins?', to be held in Bath on 11 November.

Quarriers development manager for England David Niven said the charity
was encouraging local government PROs to attend the debate, which would
discuss the way children are portrayed by the media.

'Local authorities together have thousands of comms staff and must find
the balance between public interest and confidentiality,' said
Niven.

'Every day the media want to know more, but local authorities are not
zookeepers and they have an enormous responsibility to protect the
vulnerable.'

The first item on the agenda is the representation of children in the
media; in particular the controversy surrounding the 'naming and
shaming' of under-18s given anti-social behaviour orders (ASBOs).

Other sessions will tackle the issue of journalists covering legal
proceedings involving young people and the effectiveness of the 9pm
broadcast watershed.